Dell WD19TB Thunderbolt Docking Station, 180W Adapter

This dell docking station is very useful for my work because i’m now able to plug 2 standalone (independant) monitors + 1 HD TV. The dock has also multiple connection available whiuch help to connect other devices. It,s expensive but you don’t have to wait 3 months as if you would have had ordered it from Dell.

I ordered the WD19TB, but I was sent the WD19TBS. The difference is, the WD19TB cost a little more and it has two 3.5 mm audio jacks. I paid a little more because I wanted the 3.5 mm jacks, the WD19TBS does not have them. Of course I did not notice until I was setting the dock up. Other than that, the dock works great. So far, I have no issues with it’s performance. Easy to setup and ice design.

The 130W output was needed to power my Dell XPS 7590 (15″). That power requirement limited my docking station choices. I found this station works very well (maybe better) with less-power-hungry devices such as the Dell XPS 7390, a 2019 MacBook Pro, HP Envy x360’s, HP Spectre x360’s, LG Gram 17″‘s, and an older Lenovo Flex 5. These devices range in power requirements from 60 watts to 80 or 90 watts. It’s good to have one dock that can power them all.

Generally speaking, reliable. Re-connecting a running machine works about 80% of the time. The other 20%, the ethernet doesn’t work. That issue is fixed by rebooting the laptop with the docking station connected.

Notes about the video outputs: The HDMI output can only be used stand-alone. The preferred video outputs appear to be the two DisplayPorts. If you do not have DisplayPort monitors, you can get DisplayPort to HDMI converting ‘dongles’ for $5-$10.

My two external monitors have different resolution: one 4K; the other, “FHD” (i.e.1080P). I could not get both monitors to work reliably using the two DisplayPorts. After trying various cables & dongles, I found a reliable setup to be use the first DisplayPort for the 4K monitor, and use the USB-C ‘multi-function DisplayPort’ on the back for the FHD monitor. I use a QSee USB-C to HDMI converter with the FHD monitor.

The DisplayPort issue might be a limitation I did not heed, with either the docking station (some stations only support two FHD’s or *one* 4K) or with the laptop’s graphics card*
(*although it looks to me that laptop GPU’s are not used *at all* with external monitors. I have not been able to get *any* laptop GPU’s to show usage unless displaying only through the laptop’s built-in screen.)

Overall, the WD19TB’s high power output makes it a versatile choice, as you are unlikely to come across a laptop requiring more than 130 watts input power. The WD19TB’s connections work fine. Note I also have a Dell WD19 – the non-Thunderbolt version of this docking station. It has the same output power, and also works perfectly with all of the devices mentioned earlier. You might not need the pricier ThunderBolt version here if you are simply connecting monitors and devices. The advantage of Thunderbolt is 2x data transfer speed, which, from what I’ve read, only adds value with high-end media editing using external drives.

I got this dock to replace my WD19… the TB version allows you to run triple monitors with the laptop closed… the USB3 version does not (Dual only, + laptop screen as far as I could figure).

Given my triple monitor setup, my desk got pretty crowded so I ended up drilling some 2″ holes into the desk, installing grommets, and routing cables. With all that, I wanted to get the dock off my desk top and under the desk. It had two mounting holes designed for the Dell mounting kit.

Well, don’tcha know, I can’t spend $30 on a mounting kit when I can MacGyver my own for $15. Here’s what I did:

The mounting holes in the dock are M2.5. So you need a tiny diameter screw to mount it. 2 screws in fact.

I got a 12 inch piece of aluminium bar from Home Depot and drilled 2 holes, 88mm apart for the two M2.5 screws. Then I overdrilled the holes to help recess the screws a little. On the ends of the bar, I drilled two larger holes that wood screws would fit through. I installed the bar to the dock (see pic), then screwed the whole assembly under my desk.

I was pretty proud of myself, until I plugged the dock into the power adapter… It wouldn’t turn on. I tried a different power adapter (180W, 130W) but no dice. Crap. I broke my dock… or did I?

I took the whole assembly down and loosened the M2.5mm screws. When I plugged it back up, the fan started spinning. I remounted it loosely with wood screws, hooked up all my stuff, and it fired right up.

Moral of the story: don’t tighten the mounting screws too much. This thing’s a little temperamental.

I bought this docking station on 13/04/2023 from Amazon and it suddenly stopped working on 4th July 2024. It came with a 3 year warranty and when I called Dell customer service, they say this product is not more in warranty. This is a big fraud happening around with this.